The present invention relates to an adhesive composition suitable for use in joining carbon--carbon composites, to the thus-joined composites themselves, and to the method of forming the same. The invention is based, in part, on the utilization of polymeric ceramic precursors disclosed in the parent application identified above, whose entire specification and claims are specifically incorporated herein by reference.
Carbon--carbon composites are widely utilized in the aerospace industry because of their high strength-to-weight ratio, their high degree of stiffness, and stability against dimensional variation. Moreover, these composites also have a high level of chemical and thermal stability. One of the difficulties, however, is Joining these composites together to form variously shaped structures, as for example satellite and space orbit structures. At the present time carbonaceous bonds and mechanical means have been utilized to join the composites but they have not been found satisfactory. Such joining techniques lack the stability of the composites themselves. The carbonaceous bonds are too weak and mechanical joints tend to lack stiffness and can suffer from vibration fatigue problems near the fastening means used for such mechanical joints. Neither one of these methods of joining carbon--carbon composites to form larger structures result in structures which have all the same thermal stability and strength characteristics of the carbon--carbon composites themselves. A satisfactory joining method has thus far not been found.